Don Lennox

Don Lennox
Don confronting Hunter McKay in 2009
Shortland Street
Portrayed by	Chris Easly
First appearance	1 September 2008 episode 4062
Last appearance	11 December 2009 episode 4395
Profile
Gender	Male
Occupation	Mechanic, Hitman
Relationships Spouse(s) unnamed wife Children 1 unnamed daughter

Don Lennox was a fictional character in the soap opera Shortland Street. He was the soap's local mechanic and hitman. He appeared in both 2008 and 2009 and was portrayed by Chris Easly. Though Don only appeared in the show a few times, he featured in two prominent storylines and another similarly prominent storyline. Don died in December 2009 after a gunshot to the chest.

History

Murder of Craig Valentine

Don first appeared on the show in September 2008. He was one of the hitmen who was hired by the dodgy pharmaceutical company Scott Spear to kill local doctor Craig Valentine. As Craig travelled home, Don and two other men knocked him off the road and pursued him through heavy forest. Craig managed to hide his evidence against Scott Spear before Don and the whitetails caught him and beat him to death. Don and his two cronies then put Craig in his car and set him and the car afire.

Attempted murder of Justine Jones

Don's next appearance was when Scott Spear hired him and the whitetails once again to kill doctor Justine Jones. Don and his henchmen broke into Justine's car and hid a mobile phone-controlled bomb in the boot. Justine discovered it and drove away after she changed the SIM card with her own phone. When she was far away enough from Don's hidden car, she put the SIM card back in and ran. The car exploded and Justine was believed dead. She actually had escaped to Australia.

Don next appeared when Kieran Mitchell went to his workshop and overheard him talking about how he was hired to kill Justine. Kieran told this to Chris Warner, who went investigating on his own. Don knew something was up and gunmen were dispatched to the hospital to kill Chris. Chris survived and the only major casualty was Ethan Pierce who was shot.

Ethan Pierce

In the final week of 2008, Ethan Pierce's business partner, Kieran Mitchell, hired Don to kill Ethan Pierce for $20,000. Kieran soon decided this was a bad idea but could not get in contact with Don. Meanwhile, Don took aim at Ethan in his silent suburban street. But Ethan managed to escape, albeit unwittingly. But on 19 December 2008, Ethan was shot and killed. A whodunit-style storyline arose, with Don as one of the suspects. A distraught Kieran was forced to give Don the money. Despite Don not being involved in the murder, he still took credit for it while an upset Kieran confessed to the police. Don jumped the ditch and hid in Australia. Maia Jeffries eventually admitted to the killing of Ethan, but was found not guilty due to insanity.

Return to New Zealand and another attempt at Justine

Somewhere between January and July 2009, Don returned to New Zealand. Justine Jones made her return "from the dead" as well so she could give evidence in the Scott Spear trial. Justine's life was in huge danger, so she was kept in a safehouse. Whitetail thugs who murdered Craig arrived at the McKay's house to greet Hunter. They pretended to be policemen. But Hunter spotted Whitetail tattoos on them, and he slowed them down by pretending to have lost his wallet. Don arrived and pushed Hunter to the ground. Hunter made a run for it and alerted police that Don and the Whitetails are back. On the drive to the trial, Callum was forced to go with Brooke Freeman. Don was waiting at the courthouse hiding in a bush. As the family came out of the two separate cars, Don mistook Brooke for Justine and shot her but she survived.

Death

On 10 December 2009, a year after he was hired to kill Ethan Pierce, Don was brought into Shortland Street seriously wounded after a gunshot to the chest. He went in under a fake name and was bought into the operating room. Chris got ready to start the surgery when he got a look at his face and realised the patient was Don Lennox. Chris announced this and the fact that he was the man that killed Chris' best friend Craig Valentine. Though Chris tried his best, Don was pumping out too much blood to stop it and he died. Most people at the hospital were relieved that a violent criminal such as Don had finally got what he deserved.